Category: News & Events

Fundraising Bazaar 2024

Published on by Lee Wen Teh

The temple’s annual fundraising event is coming up soon on November 16th, 2024! We hope you’ll join us and support our efforts in one of the following ways:

1. Support the English Dharma Group’s Coffee Stand
We’re excited to bring a gourmet coffee experience to this year’s event with a mobile espresso bar! If you’d like to help cover the costs for the coffee bar service, we would be grateful for any contributions, large or small. Any excess funds will go directly to support the temple. To donate, please use one of the following methods:

  • Zelle: leewen_teh@yahoo.com or 832-874-1935
  • Venmo: leewen_teh@yahoo.com or user name: @LeeWen-Teh
  • Cash: please pass to Hunter White
    (p/s: please email leewen_teh@yahoo.com once payment is made)

2. Prepare Homemade Food, Snacks or Other Items to Sell at the Bazaar
We welcome donations of food, snacks, or other items for sale at the event. If you’d like to contribute, please let us know in advance by emailing jadebuddhatx@gmail.com.

3. Volunteer at the Event
Help us run the booth! We’re looking for volunteers to assist on November 16 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. If you’re available, contact jadebuddhatx@gmail.com to sign up.

4. Attend and Enjoy!
Come support us, enjoy the festivities, and have a great time at the bazaar!

SMG New Book Study Announcement (Aug 3, 2024)

Published on by BHS

Dear EDG Community,
We are excited to announce our next book study, where we will delve into “The Experience of Samadhi: An In-depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation” by Richard Shankman. “In this clear and accessible exploration, Dharma teacher and longtime meditator Richard Shankman unravels the mix of differing, sometimes conflicting, views and traditional teachings on how samadhi (concentration) is understood and taught.” – Penguin Random House.

“The Experience of Samadhi provides a wonderfully broad overview of the role of concentration in Buddhist meditation as well as in-depth exploration of meditative experience. This book is a valuable and inspiring resource.”—Joseph Goldstein

The book study will commence on Saturday, August 3. We kindly request that each participant purchase a copy before our first meeting. SMG’s virtual meetings take place every Saturday, starting at 10 AM. We begin with a 30-minute gently guided Vipassana meditation, followed by an engaging and interactive hour-long discussion on our reading material.

We look forward to embarking on this journey together and invite you to explore the in-depth guide of “The Experience of Samadhi.”

Kind regards,
SMG (EDG’s Satellite Meditation Group)

** Please reach out to Rick with any questions you might have at vsmg.mgr@gmail.com

Ullambana Ceremony, August 2024

Published on by Lee Wen Teh

We will not have an EDG meeting on August 18th.

At this time, English Dharma Group is joining the Ullambana Ceremony at the Grand Hall of Jade Buddha Temple.  Venerable Hung-I will deliver a talk.  There will be headsets available for English translation. Please join us if you can.

The EDG meetings, and Zoom, will resume on August 25th.

About Ullmbana

The Ullambana and Sangha Day Ceremony is based on the Ullambana Sutra (also known as Yulanpen Sutra), which is a Mahayana sutra concerning filial piety –  the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors. It is also the day for helping those beings who are suffering so that they have the chance to obtain liberation.

In the Sutra, it records the time when Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana achieves the supernatural knowledge and uses his newfound powers to search for his deceased parents. Maudgalyayana discovers that his deceased mother was reborn into the preta or hungry ghost realm due to past bad karma. She was in a wasted condition and Maudgalyayana tried to help her by giving her a bowl of rice. Unfortunately as a preta, she was unable to eat the rice as it was transformed into burning coal. 

Maudgalyayana then asks the Buddha for help. The Buddha explains that his mother can’t be saved by only one person due to the mighty bad karma. However, one is able to assist one’s current parents and deceased parents by willingly offering food (and other needs) to the sangha or monastic community on the 15th day of the seventh month (lunar calendar), whereby the monastic community collectively transfer merits to the deceased parents.

Maudgalyayana did as the Buddha had instructed. Due to the strength of the greatly virtuous ones, his mother was reborn in the heavens.

Since then, the Ullambana festival has become an annual Buddhist ceremony to exhibit love and respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors through offerings to the Sangha; as well as practicing loving kindness by transferring merits to beings in the hungry ghost realm to help release them from suffering.

Bhante Rāhula’s EDG Dhamma Talks

Published on by BHS

We are very excited to announce that Bhante Rāhula from Mexico will be giving talks at EDG on 5/26/2024 and 6/23/2024. This will be Bhante’s first time sharing his teaching at EDG and we look forward to his presentations. Bhante is an expert in Abhidhamma, a skilled speaker, and an educator.

In these initial talks with EDG, Bhante would like to share and explore practical ways to apply the Dhamma in our daily lives.

Introducing Bhante Rāhula

Bhante Rāhula, born in Mexico, has spent the last 22 years in Asia in various periods, where he has practiced and studied the Dhamma.

He was ordained in Myanmar by Sayadaw Dr. Nandamālābhivaṃsa, who is his preceptor. Since 2004 he has received meditation guidance from Sayadaw U Tejaniya. For 6 years, Bhante studied Suttas and Abhidhamma with Sayadaw Dr. Ukkamsacara in Macau. In 2019, he completed a course on Buddhist scriptures from Harvard University.

He underwent monastic Vinaya training for 2 years in Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary in Malaysia under the guidance of Ven. Ariyadhammika, where he also led retreats and Dhamma activities for the local community.

For the last 7 years, Bhante has offered continuous weekly courses on the anatomy of the mind (applied Abhidhamma) in English and Spanish, followed online by students in more than 15 countries.

In the beginning of 2023, Bhante conducted a Dhamma tour in South America, leading retreats and talks in Uruguay, Colombia and Ecuador.

Currently, Bhante is constructing the Mexican Buddhist Center (Paññābhūmi) to introduce and propagate the Buddha’s teaching in South America. He is also actively involved in diverse programs to aid parts of the society in overcoming drug addiction and alcoholism, as well as supporting educational campaigns for children and teens to prevent such problem in this region.

Below are a few pictures from retreats and events led by Bhante Rāhula:

Mexican Buddhist Center (Paññābhūmi)
Mexican Buddhist Center (Paññābhūmi)
Talks for children
Talks to 2,000 parents of drug addicts
Talk to relieve stress and develop the Brahmavihārā for doctors
Retreat in South America

Here are a few Dhamma talks by Bhante Rāhula:

Buddha’s Birthday Celebration

Published on by BHS

We will not have an EDG meeting on May 19th.

At this time, English Dharma Group is joining the Grand Hall ceremony for Buddha’s Birthday Celebration.  The Talk will be in Chinese.  But, there will be headsets available for English translation.

The EDG meetings, and Zoom, will resume on May 26th.

Weekly Nikaya Reading Class

Published on by BHS
Presently, we are on the Anguttara Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi of Nikaya series. We meet at 7:00PM to 8:30PM central time every Sunday via Zoom. Whoever is interested, please contact nikaya.mgr@gmail.com. Mr James Chao, the founder and leader of the Nikaya Reading Class, ordered some copies of Anguttara Nikaya for participants of the reading class from EDG. Each copy of the Anguttara Nikaya will be sold at a special rate of $20/copy as a donation to Jade Buddha Temple and as an invitation to the reading class. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring you closer to the Buddha’s teachings. FYI. You can also purchase the Anguttara Nikaya on Amazon. For those who are interested, please reach out to EDG for purchase.